Motorola Replaces Google Location Services with Skyhook

Motorola announced today their plan to replace Google's location services with Skyhook Wireless's Core Location service. Those of you who have been using Google's method know that it isn't very accurate, so a push to get Google improving their methods is (in my opinion) a benefit for everyone.

According to the press release on Engadet's site, devices with Skyhook support will "begin shipping later this year." AndroidGuys mentioned that Apple already uses Skyhook in their iPhones, iPads, and iPods so the technology is definitely a good choice. New location aware apps such as Twitdroid will likely perform better thanks to this development.

Phandroid added an update to their story, saying that no word has been spoken by Google or Motorola on what will happen to Google Maps and Navigation, so we haven't heard the last of this.

BoyGeniusReport had this to say about the reasoning behind Motorola's decision:

Rather than wait for Google to improve its location services, Motorola is turning to Skyhook, whose service uses a combination of Wi-Fi hotspot triangulation, cell tower triangulation, and GPS information to provide fast and accurate location information.